Kemar Roofe leaves U’s for Leeds in record fee

Oxford United have sold star attacker Kemar Roofe to Leeds United for a fee in the region of £3m.

Roofe, 23, had been linked with a summer transfer to Yorkshire over the last month and the U’s set his valuation at £3m.

Once the Championship outfit met Roofe’s valuation, the club refused to stand in the way of the striker’s career progression.

The transfer, which is a record fee received for Oxford United, is officially undisclosed.

The former West Bromwich Albion youngster scored 26 goals last season as United won promotion from League Two and he subsequently attracted plenty of interest from clubs in higher divisions.

It is believed West Brom have a sell-on of about 40 per cent.

Kemar Roofe scored 26 goals for the U’s last season (picture courtesy of @LUFC)

In a brief statement on United’s website, Roofe said: “It’s an exciting new chapter for me but I want to thank everyone at Oxford for making my time there so memorable.

“The chairman, the manager, the players and in particular the fans have been outstanding and it is a club that is always going to mean a lot to me.”

The striker, who had two years left on his contract at the Kassam Stadium after joining the club permanently from West Brom last summer was involved in more goals than any other player in the top four tiers in all competitions last season.

He contributed to 26 goals and 11 assists in a promotion campaign that also inviolved a Wembley appearance in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in April.

Chairman Darryl Eales said: “The transfer of Kemar is bitter sweet.

“I am delighted for Kemar personally; he has been a pleasure to work with – he leaves with our sincere thanks and very best wishes.

“We would prefer to keep all players but Kemar wanted to test his talent at a higher level and ultimately, once Leeds met our valuation, we would not want to stand in a player’s way.

“We are serious about preparing for a strong campaign in the season ahead and will continue to enhance the squad over the next few weeks.”

Head Coach Michael Appleton said he is “sure he will continue to develop and has a really bright future ahead of him”.